The square beside Hagia Sophia occupies the site which
was once the heart of ancient Constantinople.
The square coinsides almost exactly with the Augustaeum,
the public forecourt to the Great Palace of Byzantium. On
it's northern side the Augustaeum gave access to Hagia Sophia
and to the Patriachal Palace, while outside it's southern
corner stood the Challce or Brazen House, the monumental
vestibulet the Great Palace.
The Hippodrome was just to the southwest of the Augustaeum
and to the south the Baths of Zeuxippus, the largest &
famous public bath in the city.
Thus the Augustaeum and it's immediate neighborhood were
at the very hub of life in the ancient city.
Today the square is no longer a civil center, but it's
still a central point for visiting the antiquities on the
First Hill.
